Hyrule League
by Vegeta the 3rd
Summary: Ash Ketchum wants to be a Pokemon Master. Linkle Braver yearns to be the next Legendary Hero. Together with friends old and new, they explore the vast, hidden world of Hyrule to challenge the Eight Temple Sages of each major settlement. But like all the Legends before, there's an ancient evil lurking in the shadows of Man and Pokemon.
1. The Girl in Green

_The official story, the "original" story told in Sinnoh, says there was only chaos. And at the heart of this chaos was a single egg. From the Void, the egg hatched and bore the Original One. Time and Space now had meaning, and thus were also born, along with matter. Even the Void now had purpose, if only meant to be forgotten. Finally, the Original One gave life to three living virtues, and helped bring spirit to the world. With the world created, the Original One entered a deep slumber, away from its creations._

 _The real story, the story my grandma and all the Sages have told me, was that there was nothing in chaos until three, brilliant, golden Goddesses descended from the kingdom of clouds high above. The Goddess of Power created and cultivated the land that would be the world. The Goddess of Wisdom bestowed her knowledge and order unto the land. And the Goddess of Courage created all life that would uphold those laws. They returned to the heavens when their work was done, and all they left behind were their mystical golden symbols, said to be locked away and used for a time of either great peace or utter destruction._

 _The similarities are all there; the chaos, the beginning, and the slumber of great power. There are plenty of other stories with their own meanings, but it_ _'_ _s the little differences that people fight to prove. They believe that the story they grew up with is the absolute truth. And until recently, I was one of those people._

 _But when I heard about the tale of the Original One, and heard more claims of seeing god-like Pokémon as opposed to Golden Goddesses, I started to wonder. Could both stories be true? At least, that_ _'_ _s what I like to tell myself. But what I_ _'_ _m afraid to ask or even write down is-_

 _What if the "real" story is wrong?_

* * *

Hyrule League

Chapter 1: The Girl in Green

* * *

Pokémon; the unique and colorful creatures that can be found anywhere around the world. Each Pokémon holds power beyond compare to the normal human, and are often seen in sport against each other by those that have caught and tamed them. From the quick-footed Ratatta to the powerful predator that is Pidgeot, they come in all shapes and sizes.

There are many reasons why people use Pokémon. Some simple folk just enjoy the companionship they bring, becoming good friends in the process. Others ambitiously see them as tools to better their nefarious goals, from global takeover to extreme terraforming, even attempting to claim the power of the Gods. And many, many more keep them close as companions as they travel the world in pursuit of their dreams.

Pallet Town was such a place where adventurers started out. It is a small but humble community town, with only a few houses close together with wide grass yards to spare (some might argue only as many as two as far as the eye can see). Pallet was best known for Professor Samuel Oak's Pokémon Lab and the new generation of Pokémon trainers that marched out of its gates every year.

It was another typical morning over Pallet Town. The citizens were all roused by the coos of various Pidgey. Young children ran and played with one another as adults tended to their chores and jobs. Those with Pokémon played and worked, while those that didn't watched and hoped to gain their own partners someday.

Even the port south of town was busy. It was barely used aside from trips to and from the exotic Cinnabar Islands, and even further down to the Orange Islands. It was possible that ships could travel across the sea to entirely new regions, though ships from other regions rarely docked into Pallet Town when Vermillion City was a well-known and closer destination.

But today was different.

"Laaaaand hooooo!"

The cry stopped all the Pallet Town harbor workers (and their assisting blue bodybuilding Machoke Pokémon) from their grunt work, causing them all to gaze out to sea. A ship? Here? But there wasn't another ship scheduled to dock for at least another week.

And this ship was unlike any design they had seen before. Most ships were cruise liners equivalent to the now sunken S.S. Anne, with powerful motors meant to carry passengers in luxury and comfort. This arrival, however, was simply a galleon-styled boat, with tall masts and pearl-white sails powered by the wind. The bow had a fierce-eyed lion figurehead, but bared no similarity to any Pokémon the sailors had ever seen. It was more like a red and angry beast with white hair and eyebrows with a yellow nose and horns. Even the blue eyes looked scary.

Further up, small white winged birds flew in circles around the ship. Some even roosted on the mast as if they were tree branches. Their caws grew in volume as the ship drew closer to the docks. "Gull, gull! Wingull!" they cawed.

The head of the Pallet Town harbor approached the ship as it fully docked. The middle aged sailor barely had time to move away before a small green blur zipped down the loading board and towards the town proper. What really startled him was the feeling of something cold and hard brushing against his chest muscles, like a metal rod. Looking back, he could barely make out the figure's bobbing yellow head and green hood before disappearing further down the road.

Must be some over-excited trainer like Delia's son. They come in all flavors, these days.

Another figure calmly walked off of the ship, lightly tugging his long blue vest. He was a rugged and salty character with a thin green mustache matching his hair, and old but well-kept navy clothes. A Pelipper, the larger and evolved form of Wingull with a distinctly large bill, roosted on his shoulder like a certain parrot Pokémon would.

"Ahoy there!" The man smiled and shook hands with the harbor head. "Name's Captain Linebeck of the Red Lion. Sorry to come in unannounced, but we're planning a short rest before sailing back home. Need a lot of provisions and such. And plenty of rum too! You wouldn't happen to know where the bar is, would ya?"

"The bar?" The man asked aloud, before turning and pointing to the road. "Well, there's one down to the right of the road but-"

"You hear that boys?!" Linebeck smiled as he turned back to the ship. "We'll be drinking like kings tonight!"

A unified roar bellowed from the galleon, as if it had come from a whole herd of wild Pokémon. Even the Wingull joined in the cheers. Then, to the shock of the harbor men, the ship's crew (man and Pokémon alike) all surged out like a stampede of Tauros, disappearing almost as quickly as the green blur.

The head of the harbor was just as baffled and confused by the antics of the visitors, but they certainly didn't set off any warning signals. In fact, just before the captain left with the crew, he dropped a small but bulky bag in the harbormaster's hands. Curious, he loosened the string and found hexagonal jewel-like stones of green and blue filling the contents. They looked as pretty as Sableye gems.

"Huh," the man said as he held one of the stones up to the sunlight. "Now _that_ _'_ _s_ treasure."

Now if only he knew how much these were worth…

* * *

Finally, land! Solid ground after being cooped up for so long in that ship! They were still a long ways from home, but she was going to make this day of freedom last for all it was worth. Especially when this land was one she hadn't seen before.

As she neared the top of the hill, she stopped and stared while catching her eager breath. She could barely make out a few houses from the hills below, as simple and small as they were. There was more cropped up farmland than there were buildings, and a lot more trees too. And she could even see a small creek that must flow to the sea. Everything was so green and welcoming, like Kakariko Town. Her eyes stopped wandering as she spotted a big building with a tower structure.

"They even have a windmill here," she said in awe, and immediately made a beeline towards the pace stopped at the edge of the fence, a wide space of grass stretching between her and the building. It looked like some sort of ranch or grazing ground, but where were the Pokémon that should be grazing?

"There should be at least a Ponyta or something racing around," she frowned. "Like at Malon's."

She glanced to both sides of the fence again, and still saw no sign of human or Pokémon. Shrugging, she climbed over the fence in a single "Hup!" and walked towards the windmill-building again. Surely they won't mind if she entered through the back door instead of going all the way to the front.

It's not like she was going to break their pottery and steal their money.

* * *

"Quick! Break all the pottery and steal all the money you can find! That _has_ to be where they hide their savings!"

"But Jessie, this is a laboratory. All they have here are bottles and beakers!"

"And some fancy machines that would be way too heavy to carry!"

"Then find anything that we _can_ carry! This is our biggest break yet in a Pokémon Lab heist and we're going to make this count!"

Inside the main lab room were four individuals, three of which were arguing as they picked the place clean. The one barking orders was a woman approaching her thirties, with a shapely figure, glossy red lips, and long magenta hair impossibly frozen stiff in a blown-back curl. She wore long boots and gloves, both black in color, as well as a short white skirt and white shirt. The shirt was parted over the chest, as it a triangle was cut off, revealing a black undershirt. The white shirt had a partially obscured red R insignia, standing for the proud criminal organization of Team Rocket.

The two she was barking at were a man and a Pokémon, stockpiling whatever they could find in a big brown bag. The man was a handsome fellow with short blue hair, of which a single strand reached down over his nose. He wore a uniform similar to the woman, except for the long white pants which were held up by a belt and his abdomen was covered under his shirt and undershirt.

The Pokémon was a Meowth. The Cat Scratch Pokémon shared many similar traits to his other Meowth kin; cream-colored fur with brown patches on the hind paws and tail, prominent whiskers poking out from the sides and top of his face, black-lined ears, and a golden oval charm on his forehead. Unlike most Meowths however, he preferred to walk upright on his hind claws and could say a lot more than just "Meowth".

And the fourth? He was a young man, victim by circumstance. Key features included a green shirt, red shorts, an orange bandana under his black hair and blue sneakers. The man, Tracey Sketchit, was a lab assistant and apprentice to his idol Prof. Oak… and he was currently gagged, bound, and taped down to a rolling chair. "Mhp ftt! Mff Mff thm Ffofimn fu!" he cried out in vain through his gag.

Ignoring the boy's cries, the woman took the time to admire the bag's contents. So many red and white spheres filled the bag, each the size of a food pellet yet they could expand to the size of baseballs when the center button was pressed, and open when the button was pressed again. Each ball contained a Pokémon, resting in the portable devices, and she knew a good number of them belonged to that _twerp_. It felt good to finally succeed again, especially whenever Ash Ketchum was concerned.

Having cleaned the lab clean of all the Poké Balls, her colleagues searched high and low for any loot to claim for themselves, only to come up short. Reluctantly, they revealed a handful of coins and scraps in their hands/paws. "One would think that a lab would have more silver to show for it," Meowth said, downcast.

"Or even some more nickels," the male thief added, before brightening up as he picked up a small item of interest. "But look! I found a new bottle cap for my collection!"

Meowth, somewhat exasperated, glanced to the human male, sweat rolling down the other side of his head. "You _really_ got your priorities straight, James."

It was at this point that a fifth figure literally popped out of nowhere, or more specifically from a Poké Ball. He looked like a blue punching bag, he had a silly scrunched up face, he stood upright on four balls for feet, had a black tail with a face on it, and one of his two long limbs seemed to imitate a salute as he made his Pokémon cry: "Wo~bbuffet!"

"Perhaps it was too much to ask for some secret professor fund to be stashed away here," said the woman, turning her attention to the bag of Poké Balls. "But at least we got our main objective in acquiring all these Pokémon!"

"It was truly brilliant, Jessie!" James cheered. "Sneaking into Oak's lab at the crack of dawn when everyone, including the Pokémon, were all asleep is just pure genius!"

"And as long as the meddling kids and their Pikachu aren't here, we'll get away with it too!" Meowth added.

"Wobbuffet! Wobbuffet!" The Patient Pokémon expressed delight and praise to his owner with repeated bowing gestures.

"But of course," Jessie smiled. "Why waste time going after Pikachu at the Kalos League when we could get a head start at his defenseless Pokémon?"

"And who to thank other than our very own Pokémon Watcher?" Meowth grinned, referring to the gagged boy. They all shared a laugh while Tracey could only glare and struggle in vain.

It was a simple plan, really; sneak in, dress up as new lab assistants and learn all the time tables and pathways. Their disguises never failed, even when Meowth was in costume and talking. They reined in their urges for supposedly easy captures or early sneak attacks in favor of a long term plan, lest they lose everything.

And lo and behold, Team Rocket's patience was finally awarded. Professor Oak had left the other day to rendezvous with Ash the twerp, and left the drawing twerp Tracy in charge until he returned. All the Pokémon would be asleep in their balls which were kept in the lab. Thanks to their disguise as trusted interns, they were given a key to help. And to top it off, Tracey trusted their alter egos enough to assign the time where they could do the typical lab routine.

"Well, we better quit while we're ahead and hurry on out," Jessie ordered. James and their Pokémon partners in crime then lifted the bag as one; James in front, Meowth in the center, and Wobbuffet from behind. She purposely ignored their heaving grunts and led them toward the backdoor.

"All this would be pointless if the twerps catch us scrounging for bottle caps, so we're not taking any chances," Jessie added.

"But what about Pikachu?" James asked.

"What _about_ Pikachu?!" Meowth snapped. As much as he wanted to bag the Electric Mouse once and for all, he hated getting electrocuted and blasted off in nearly every encounter far too much. "We already swiped all of the twerp's other Pokémon that made us look like chumps! Bulbasaur, Quilava, Staraptor, even all 30 of his Tauros! With all these Pokémon plus whoever else sends their Pokémon here, we don't even need that runt anymore! And in case you forgot our track record, we'd lose _everything_ if we go after him now!"

"Actually, I _was_ thinking of one last trick we could pull over the twerp," Jessie smirked. "We all know he loves his Pokémon; it's one of his more annoying traits."

"And his love for other Pokémon led him to meddle in other affairs too," said James, to which Wobbuffet echoed.

"So after we have long fled away and lay low a bit in Viridian City, we'll reappear, motto and all, and offer poor little Ash an ultimatum; we'll give him back all the Poké Balls we stole from him if he gives us his Pikachu!"

"Why Jessie!" said James. "That's so devious and underhanded! I love it!"

"Yeah, but the kid will never go for it," quipped the bipedal Pokémon, providing the much needed cynicism. "Chances are he'll try to rescue all his Pokémon back in a fight, like usual."

"And that's the best part!" Jessie exclaimed. "We'll only give him back the Poké Balls. But we'll have already given all the Pokémon away to our boss long before we get his hopes up!"

At once, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet beamed at their leader's brilliance. "Now _that_ _'_ _s_ devious and underhanded!" James smiled. "If we win, we finally get Pikachu!"

"And even if we lose," Meowth grinned. "We still get a grand payoff!"

"Team Rocket's rising up again!" The trio sang in high spirits.

"Wobbuffet!" nodded Wobbuffet.

Unfortunately for them, their hopes and dreams were going to be crushed in an instant.

The door opened from the outside, so it was much to Team Rocket's surprise that someone opened the backdoor, the _grazing ranch door,_ before them.

Standing before them, like a Deerling in headlights, was a young girl. Their eyes were drawn first to her legs for two reasons. First, she wore brown, thigh-high boots with some unknown symbol around the knee pads (and that was unknown the adjective, not Unown the Pokémon). Second, she seemed to somehow have a crossbow hooked to her left boot and a small compact quiver on her right. She looked no older than the twerps they followed on a regular basis and yet she was carrying a lethal weapon!

Further up she wore what seemed to be an orange short shirt, and possibly a white blouse. It was hard to tell because they were both covered by a long green tunic that reached to her waist with an attached hood hanging down.

On her person, she seemed well equipped, and not just the crossbow. A big, round, golden trinket of some sort (Watch? Compass?) was hanging around her neck, as was a choker with a blue gemstone. Slung over her left shoulder was a green bag with a single strap, designed with weirder symbols than before. And over her right shoulder was what looked like a sword, but it was really the Sword Pokémon, Honedge. They've been in Kalos enough to tell the difference.

Their gaze finally settled on the newcomer's face. Big, innocent blue eyes wide with surprise. Pale, pristine skin that seemed to glow. Golden blonde hair fashioned into two braided bangs, and they barely hid away the extended, pointed ears from behind.

Frankly, Team Rocket had never seen such a weird looking girl before. And judging by her baffled expression, she had never seen people like them before either.

They just stopped and stared at each other, frozen in a trance for what felt like a long time. In reality, it was only a minute at most. The spell was eventually broken by a desperate cry from inside the lab.

"HHLLLLLLLLLLLF!" Tracey screamed, somehow managing to roll himself to the hallway behind Team Rocket. He didn't get much farther before the chair tipped over and he hit the ground with his chin. "OOF FHM!"

The quartet of thieves stiffened as they glanced between Tracey and the pointed-ear girl, who looked like she was just now processing that they were thieves. Whatever silver tongued lie they could have spun was gone the moment Tracey showed up, and it didn't take a genius to put two and two together.

Figures. Nothing ever went their way. Blasted karma.

"Oh to heck with it," Jessie snapped in equal parts annoyance and acceptance. "Run you idiots!"

Leading the charge, she shoved the stunned girl out of the way as James and their Pokémon followed close behind, who replied with an eager "Yes, ma'am! (Wobbu!)" As long as they could reach Viridian City and their hideout there, they would be home free!

The girl pushed herself up from the ground and stared at the running duo. The gagged man. The large sack. Their panic and rush to leave. Either this was some sort of customary ritual for their region, or most likely she was witnessing a robbery in process.

By Farore's Wind. Thieves? Here? Not on her watch!

"Stop right there!" she cried, and her arms shot for both sides of her boots. In a flash, her crossbow was unhooked and loaded with a sharp piece of metal. She quickly took aim for the Wobbuffet and fired.

Jessie happened to look back at that moment, shocked to see someone fire at her darling Pokémon! "Wobbuffet! Counter attack!"

"Wobbu?!" The Patient Pokémon turned to see the arrow flying towards him. Immediately, he turned to face the attack (ignoring James and Meowth's protests as they lost his support before quickly righting themselves) and started to glow. The arrow stopped short from reaching the Pokémon's face, as the Psychic type focused on the arrow.

"BuuuuuuuFFETT!" -And like a slingshot, propelled it right back at the girl.

"Whoa!" the girl cried, rolling forward in time to dodge the reflected projectile as it landed behind where she once stood.

But she was not deterred. She simply loaded another piece of steel into her crossbow, and glared at the thieves. "It's going to take a lot more than that to stop me, you ugly hoodlums!"

They had stopped running because of the bow attack, but being called out as "ugly hoodlums" struck their small but significant sense of pride. But none so more than Jessie, who glared at the girl with a popped vein and fire in her eyes. "Ugly? UGLY?!"

"Uh oh," James frowned. "Jessie's Rage attack is showing!"

"And it's building up too," Meowth winced.

"You seem to be confused, so prepare for trouble!" Jessie proclaimed, crossing her arms and standing confidently before her.

"We're in a bit of a hurry, so make it double!" James added, appearing to her right almost instantly and somehow holding a rose in his hand.

Poor Meowth was the only one left holding the bag, and was promptly squished under the weight of the Poké Balls. But the adult thieves ignored this and continued their rehearsed motto with vigor, back and forth.

"To protect the world from devastation!"  
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"  
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"  
"Jessie!"  
"And James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!" Jessie finished, extending her right arm forward.  
"Surrender now, or prepare for a one-sided fight!" James mimicked the action with his left arm, almost crossing with Jessie's.

The forgotten Scratch Cat Pokémon had been pulling himself out from under the bag the whole time, and his exhaustion was showing. Still, he managed to jump and land on both Jessie and James's arms in time for his line. "Me- _ouch_ , that's right!"

Wobbuffet appeared in front of the trio, both arms saluting. "Wobbuffet!"

The girl blinked, somewhat stupefied. She could have sworn she heard some sort of sinister music play a moment ago, but now she could only hear the whistling wind. "Um… okay, a few questions. First of all-" She pointed to the feline with her free hand. "Did that Meowth just _talk?_ "

" _Did that Meowth just_ talk _?"_ the Pokémon mocked with a smug grin. "Man, if I got a dime for every time I heard that line, I'd have-" Meowth stopped himself in thought, and his grin fell. "A dime…" he finished lamely. He'd wanted to make a point and say something clever, but the truth was it actually the first time he had _ever_ heard that line.

"Uh-huh," was the archer girl's "convinced" response. "And what's with the poetry? Is this a thing? Are we doing some sort of thing?"

"You arrogant girl!" Jessie growled, hating the newcomer even more as she spoke. "We're not some circus act! We're Team Rocket! Worldwide criminals extraordinaire!"

"We excel in hustling, pickpocketing, cherry picking, and jaywalking!" James added passionately.

"But most of all we just like stealing other people's Pokémon!" Meowth smirked, rubbing two paw digits for emphasis. "The pay's really good ya know!"

"Wobbuffet!"

The girl's eyes seem to widen, and her body twitched. "You're thieves," she muttered, slowly lowering her crossbow.

Team Rocket smiled. There was a special satisfaction in striking fear in the young and innocent (blame their oppressive childhoods). They never seemed to get that sense of terror whenever Ash Ketchum was involved, so this encounter was just further icing on their long deserved victory cake. She had no experience in fighting and was in over her head when confronting bad guys.

"That's right," Jessie said. "So why don't you be a good girl and hurry on home before-"

"THIS IS AWESOME!"

"Eh? (Wobbu?)" gawked Team Rocket, confusion evident on their faces.

The girl wasn't shaking in fear, but anticipation. Her face seemed to be beaming with a giddy smile as she hugged her crossbow close to her chest (but not recklessly enough to accidentally fire it). "I knew it! I mean, of _course_ I knew it when I saw you running with that bag of- wait, what's in that sack again?"

The quartet of thieves just dumbly exchanged glances. "Poké Balls?" James slowly answered.

"Poké Balls!" the girl smiled, as she continued to dance in place. "That's great! Well, no, the fact that you're stealing them is _not_ great at all. I mean that my first real bad guy encounter is with thieves from a big criminal group like Team Rocket! I've been waiting for an honest challenge like this to prove myself and it's finally here! Oh man, oh man oh man, I had something prepared for this too-!"

Sweat slowly rolled down the back of the thieves' heads the more she chattered to herself. "I think she's either a full-on whacko, or one of those eccentric hero types," Jessie droned.

"And neither option is looking too good for us!" said James.

"Okay, I just have to give it my all!" she assured herself with a nod. Then she turned fully to Team Rocket with a smile and free hand raised high. "My turn!"

"Your turn? For what?" Meowth asked incredulously.

Their confusion grew as the girl's peppy mood seemed to die out in an instant. Her eyes were closed, her free hand reached to the back of her hood and she started to recite a poem: "When the world has need for a savior-"

With a quick hand flick, the green hood covered her head, and her blue eye snapped open. "-A hero in green is blessed by nature!"

She lifted her left leg, and her crossbow-holding hand was lowered parallel to the boot. "She comes with Courage's mark-"

Her free hand reached for the Honedge strapped to her back, not even flinching as its blue clothed arm hooked to hers. "-To slay all that is dark! And her name is –"

The girl did a perfect one-legged spin for several seconds, arms outstretched with her two weapons before righting herself. After the fourth full spin, her left foot stomped down and she was set for battle; left arm poised forward, aiming with her crossbow, and her right held parallel to her head, the Honedge's blade reflecting the morning sun's rays.

"Linkle Braver!"

The girl held her defiant pose for several seconds before the desire for her audience's opinion got the better of her. "So, what do you think?" she asked with a smile. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Now it was Team Rocket's turn to be stunned. They had faced their fair share of heroes, mostly in the form of Ash and his friends, but aside from the rare times they mimicked and mocked their motto, this was a first. No one had their own sort of hero speech, complete with action poses.

"Nice limerick," James commented honestly.

"Could use a little more footwork," Jessie admitted.

Meowth gave a deadpan scowl before whacking both of them upside the head. The action caused them to flinch and ruin their once still arms that supported the cat Pokémon. "You idiots!" he scolded them as he landed on the ground gracefully on his feet. "She just said she was going to _slay_ all that is _dark_! That means us!"

"We were just being polite!" the blue haired man weakly reasoned.

"He has a point," Jessie growled. "I don't know who you think you are, but if you don't back out of this now, you're only going to get hurt. So do yourself a favor and leave."

"That's my line," Linkle glared, no longer smiling or gushing over potential heroics. She looked serious, just like those meddling twerps they always ran into.

Jessie's eyes narrowed as she reached for her Poké Ball. "And it's your funeral." She gave Linkle a fair warning, and there was no way they were going to back down on their biggest score yet. "Go, Gourgeist!"

James threw his Poké Ball a fraction after Jessie. "You too, Inkay!"

Two flashes of light erupted as the Poké Balls opened. The first revealed a floating ghost with a base similar to a jack-o-lantern pumpkin, dark in color and an orange candle-like glow from inside. A thin orange neck-like appendage topped the pumpkin like a stem, with pink flowing hair forming arm-like limbs. The second face, the real one, was partially hidden by the hair, and scowled at Linkle. "Gourgeist!"

Appearing next to Gourgeist was a squid-like Pokémon with small blue tentacles that were barely parted from each other. Cute, black eyes and a small pink beak were crowned by a pink hat-like mantle, and two clear tendrils flowed through the air. "Ink!"

Linkle glanced between the two Pokémon, gauging them before pointing the Honedge towards each of them. "Fi, how does it look?"

A soft voice carried out from the Sword Pokémon that only she could hear. _"Gourgeist, the Pumpkin Pokémon. Type reading: 50% Grass, 50% Ghost. Possible abilities: Frisk or Pickup. The Evolved form of Pumpkaboo. This species is rumored to sing eerie songs under the New Moon and capture its prey with their hair-like limbs. There is a 70% probability this is a Super Size variant; slowest of the four Gourgeist types, but also the toughest._

" _Inkay, the Revolving Pokémon. Type reading: 50% Dark, 50% Psychic. Possible abilities: Suction Cups or Contrary. There is a 60% probability this Inkay will evolve into Malamar during this fight if its power swells while upside down. This species can emit bright lights from the dots on their membrane as a defense mechanism; while the opponent is dazed and confused, the Inkay scurry away."_

"So an armored guard and a magic archer, huh?" Linkle grinned. "Yeah, I can work with this."

Jessie sneered at the hooded girl. "If you're done talking to yourself, and not going to throw out your own Pokémon, then I'll just make the first move. Gourgeist, fire your Seed Bombs!"

"And Inkay!" James followed. "Use Psybeam!"

The two Pokémon used their respective attacks: glowing green seeds from the former, and colorful psionic energy from the latter. Linkle wasn't deterred. "Fi, Autotomize."

" _Redistributing weight. Speed levels rising."_

A moment later, the attacks landed, causing the patch of field to explode. Heavy smoke covered the area and Team Rocket wondered if they managed to get her.

Or so they thought. "Too slow!"

"What?!" James cried, and everyone turned to see the girl in midair and just above the blast. How did she jump that high?

And why was she falling so close to his cute little Inkay!?

"Slash!" was Linkle's battle cry, just as she swung down the Sword Pokémon.

It was no Cut attack, but it was a brilliant cut nonetheless. The thick white line that followed, as if from a cartoon or comic book scene, showed just how strong the swing was. And Inkay felt every bit of power in the attack.

"Inkaaaaaay!" it cried in pain, spiraling down and crashing hard to the ground.

"Inkay, no!" cried James. The impact looked painful, but at least his Pokémon was still conscious.

Linkle landed in a crouch a moment later. Jessie, seeing an opportunity and taking revenge for Inkay, pointed at the girl. "Gourgeist! Trap her with Leech Seed!"

"Gour!" More seeds fired out of the Pumpkin Pokémon's glowing lower mouth, but were smaller and more numerous than the first volley.

" _Be careful, Master,"_ the voice spoke again. _"Leech Seed is a Grass move that saps the energy of the victim and replenishes the user."_

Linkle was already tucking her arm close and turning her body. "In that case…" The Honedge's blade flashed once before Linkle's body lashed out like an unwound Hitmontop toy. "Time for a Spin Slash! HIIIIYAH!"

The impromptu move looked like a Rapid Spin move. The only difference was that Linkle's spin lasted for only a few fast rotations, but they were enough to repel and cut away the Leech Seeds.

Needless to say, Jessie was livid. Who in the world was this "Linkle Braver"? And why was there always some new brat out there ruining their schemes?

But before Jessie could call her next attack, Linkle whipped towards Gourgeist with her crossbow, eye squinting and tongue sticking out. A moment later, a bolt of silver pelted the Pumpkin Pokémon squarely in the head, causing her to cry out in pain and roll backwards in the air.

With the two enemy Pokémon taken care of for now, Linkle focused on her primary goal. Her gaze turned towards Team Rocket and ran towards them. They all flinched and stepped back in surprise. "Wow, that's fast!atMeowth noted.

"Don't just stand there, Wobbuffet!" Jessie turned to her other Pokémon, and forcibly shoved him forward. "Stop that brat with your Counter attack!"

"Wobbu! Wobbu wobbu!" the Patient Pokémon cried, waving his arms frantically. Whether it was in reluctance to stepping up or trying to coax Linkle to stop, it wasn't clear, even to Meowth.

Seeing that she wasn't stopping, and expecting another Slash attack, Wobbuffet followed through and concentrated his aura again. "Fi, Autotomize again!"

"Autotomize?" James blinked. He'd read about that move somewhere before… and was promptly reminded of it when Linkle leaped high in the air. Even higher than the first time. All of Team Rocket stared, shocked and aghast.

"That's her secret!" he exclaimed. "We're not fighting just the girl, but her Honedge as well!"

"And with her speed, we can't stop her!" Meowth cried worriedly.

Wobbuffet then decided to improvise. He moved his ball-like feet to the side and swung his black tail to the side, passing through Linkle's shadow. The eyes on the tail glowed briefly, and the next thing the heroine knew; it felt like she was yanked by a chain and plummeted prematurely to the ground.

"Oof!" Linkle grunted, quickly trying to right herself up.

"She stopped!" James exclaimed obviously. Everyone had seen it, but events like these seemed to deserve notice.

"But wait," Jessie blinked. "Wobbuffet only has four moves, and none of them can do that."

"That must be his ability, Shadow Tag!" Meowth deduced. "It keeps anyone fighting Wobbuffet from bailing out!"

"Is that so?" Jessie was pleasantly surprised. And if this girl was unable to get away from Wobbuffet, she was a sitting Psyduck! "Gourgeist! Use Leech Seed again!"

Recovering from the crossbow bolt, the Grass/Ghost hybrid floated back into the fray and let loose more seeds from her lower mouth. Despite being kept shadow bound by Wobbuffet, Linkle prepared for her counter attack.

James knew what was coming, and wasn't going to stand for it. "Inkay, just like we practiced!" he called out. "Use Topsy-Turvy on Honedge!"

"Inkaaaaaaay~" The hovering squid glowed with psychic energy, and turned itself sideways in a full circle. Moments later, Linkle's Sword Pokémon glowed as well, and one could see that an outline of the Honedge spin until it was completely upside down.

"Spin Sla~aack!" Linkle's counter ended in failure, feeling her sword arm suddenly become sluggish and cause her to trip mid-spin. "Fi, what happened?"

" _Master, I believe Inkay_ _'_ _s signature move has reversed the effects of Autotomize. I do not detect a difference in my weight distribution, but speed has been hampered down to worse than normal."_

Thing went from bad to worse as Gourgeist finally hit her mark with her seeds, landing on Linkle and her Honedge. Sticking fast like their namesake, the seeds opened and unveiled long vines that bound them closer, making removal even harder. Already Linkle and her Pokémon could feel their energy being siphoned away.

"Bullseye!" Jessie cheered, giving James and Meowth a group high five.

"I'm starting to see why the twerps use nearly all their Pokémon against us," James grinned. "It makes winning so easy!"

"And with only one twerp, the odds are in our favor!" Meowth grinned. "In fact, I think I'll have a little piece of this action for once! It's not every day we win, ya know!"

Wobbuffet stood behind Linkle, watching her intently and keeping Shadow Tag active. Gourgeist and Inkay hovered closer to each of her sides, flanking her. Meowth extended his claws and marched slowly in front of her.

Linkle was trapped. Outnumbered and outmatched. Grounded and feeling weaker with each second. It would be hard to beat all of these guys at once with just Fi, but what kind of hero gives up? Especially the Legendary Hero?

"Fi, how can we get out of this?" she whispered.

" _By my estimate, there is a 22% chance of victory against all four Pokémon. Fortunately, while Wobbuffet_ _'_ _s Shadow Tag can trap most enemies, it has recently been discovered that Ghost types are impervious to its effects."_

"Man, if I wasn't holding on to you, maybe you could have passed on through," Linkle frowned. Then she blinked, an idea forming in her head. "Do Ghost type moves count?"

" _Highly plausible."_

"Gourgeist, use Seed Bomb!" Jessie pointed.

"Inkay, Psybeam! Let's go!" James cheered.

"And I'll finish it with Fury Swipes!" Meowth pounced.

The three-way pincer attack closed in. Between the battle cries and intensity of the attacks, no one could hear the girl in green cry out, "Shadow Sneak!"

Again the collision of seeds and psionic energy caused an explosion. Meowth timed his advance smartly, and avoided friendly fire as he swiped through the dust cloud. "Take this and that and this and that and this and that and-! Huh?!"

Meowth's Fury Swipes were so fast that they cleared out the smoke quickly, but as it turned out, he was only clawing through air. While dirt was clearly blown away to a small extent, there was no sign of the girl or her weapons. The Pokémon were confused and baffled.

The feline scowled at Wobbuffet. "You big idiot! I thought you had her pinned down! How could let her escape!?"

"W-wobbu-! Wobbuffet!"

"'Behind me'?" Meowth translated. Skeptical, he turned around anyway to see what got him so riled up. And then Meowth paled. "GAAAH! The bag!"

Jessie and James turned around as well, and mirrored Meowth's reaction. "Oh no!" James cried.

"She wouldn't!" Jessie reasoned.

Somehow Linkle had teleported away from Wobbuffet's Shadow Tag and past Team Rocket. What they didn't know, let alone see, was Linkle following her Honedge through Shadow Sneak, blending to the ground and zipping past everyone before jumping out from Team Rocket's shadows. She was impaired by the sluggish sword, but she was still running and closing the distance to the bag of Poké Balls for much needed reinforcements.

As well as making sure Team Rocket couldn't run away with all of the Pokémon.

"Slash!"

" _Yes, Master."_

Another clean non-Cut cut tore open the large bag as Poké Balls rapidly spilled out. Many of them opened upon falling to the ground, expanding and releasing their contained Pokémon.

So many different kinds appeared before Linkle and Team Rocket's eyes that it was hard to keep track of them all. A bipedal creature with a leaf-like antennae which matched those growing around its neck. A small and stout dragon with a large mouth and a slow look in its eyes. Two red-shelled crabs; one small with equal sized pincers, and one large with a single disproportionally large pincer. An enormously large and fat beast that looked like it had just woken up from hibernation. A bright colored owl that seemed to dazzle the eye just from being released from its Poké Ball. And a small, four-legged creature with a small but healthy bulb plant growing on its back.

They, among many other Pokémon, looked around startled and confused. The bulb plant Pokémon, a Bulbasaur if Linkle remembered correctly, seemed to collect its wits first, immediately noticing Jessie, James and Meowth. Whenever those three were around, there were Pokémon in danger of being stolen. Including all of the Pokémon from Oak's ranch. "Saur! Bulbasaur!"

Many other Pokémon stared as well. Most, but not all, seemed to regard the thieves nastily and with the intent to fight back. Team Rocket's bravado plummeted as they slowly backed away. Only Inkay and Gourgeist were less wary, but not much as it was still a _lot_ of Pokémon openly hostile to their owners.

"Well, looks like we screwed the Poochyena on this one," James weakly joked.

"And that we're going to be blasting off again real soon!" Meowth winced.

"Wobbuuuuuu~…"

"Not this time."

Jessie looked determined and fierce, which gave the others a semblance of hope. Did she have a backup plan to salvage this failure? "Why's that, Jessie?"

She closed her eyes and smiled confidently. "Because this time we're-…"

Linkle expected some sort of desperate plan or super move, or even a giant robot like in the cartoons she grew up watching. But she didn't count on Jessie returning all of their Pokémon besides Meowth into their Poké Balls, grabbing James by the collar and Meowth by the neck, and breaking into a mad sprint at full speed, away from the lab and towards the tree-line across the fields. "RUNNING AWAY!"

This made many of the assembled Pokémon angry, but none so much as the red and white haired monkey with a flaming crown. If they were going to leave, it would be how they deserved; sent flying far away into the sky!

The Infernape attempted to charge them at full speed, until a green vine touched its shoulder. The Pokémon turned to see who wanted to stop it, and noticed the Vine Whip belonged to the Bulbasaur. "Bulbasaur, bulbasaur," the Bulb Pokémon said.

By normal accounts, the Infernape wouldn't have listened to a Pokémon as weak as a Bulbasaur, given the type advantage of Fire over Grass and the apparent level difference. But Linkle could tell that this Bulbasaur had a sort of knack for settling disputes and conflicts. And there was some power and wisdom in his words.

Infernape turned one last time to the fleeing Team Rocket. The anger was now a muted bitterness, as it huffed and turned away. They weren't worth the effort, anyway.

In all the excitement, Linkle had forgotten about the restraining Leech Seeds until they started siphoning her energy again. "Gah!" she cried out, falling down to her hands and knees. Fi the Honedge slipped out of her hand, flat on the ground and also feeling drained. The other Pokémon gasped in concern for their condition. Bulbasaur immediately galloped to her side, noticing the seeds on her body as well as Honedge.

As he could also use Leech Seed, he was aware of the move's strengths and weaknesses. Unless something was done, those seeds were going to sap away their energy even if no one was around to benefit from it. "Bulba!" he cried out. "Bulbasaur!"

A moment later, a red turtle with a black shell trotted over to him. "Torkoal?" it asked through its name.

A short conversation later, the Torkoal nodded and turned to the human and Honedge. The Fire type turtle inhaled deeply before exhaling through its nostrils, expelling a thick black smoke. It even gushed out of the top of its shell like a kettle.

Linkle ended up having a coughing fit, but was surprised to see the seeds on her body fizzle and die out. In moments, both her and Fi were clean of Leech Seeds.

" _Master, I believe this Torkoal used his naturally expelled smoke to kill the Leech Seeds,"_ explained Fi. _"Normally Leech Seed is parasitic and only dies out when the victim is unconscious or the seeds are closed off from sunlight. That_ _'_ _s why returning a Pokémon to their Poké Ball can clear them from Leech Seed, as it is a closed and controlled environment."_

"Wow," said Linkle. She had been a little worried about how to get those seeds off, so she was relieved and grateful that the Torkoal did it for her. "Thank you."

Torkoal looked like it wanted to cry for some reason, and spat out some more smoke. Bulbasaur smiled and looked about ready to say something, only for his eyes to bulge and he shifted back slowly. Torkoal and the other Pokémon did so too.

Linkle was confused, and quickly tried to assure them of her good intentions. "Hey, don't be scared! I'm the legendary hero! I helped save you guys!"

" _I believe they are warier of the Muk, Master."_

"Muk? What Muk?"

Before Fi could answer, a dark shadow overtook Linkle's body. She turned around and saw what could be best described as a giant sludge monster with large hands and an unhinged mouth. And it looked about ready to engulf and eat her. "MUUUUUUUUUUK!"

"Oh." Was all Linkle could say before crippled under a Body Slam.

* * *

A/N: Greetings, readers. I'm Vegeta the 3rd and I bring to you a new kind of fanfic (which I had posted under a different name at the Spacebattles forums for a while now). For those familiar with me and my work, I'm still going to write diligently and favorably on Fate/Reach Out, don't worry. It's just this one came to me from my muse and on what I feel is a lack of good Pokémon fanfic, let alone a crossover with Legend of Zelda.

Not much to say or explain here, but Ash will make an appearance next chapter, and yes this is part of the anime that happens after the XY and Z anime but before the Sun and Moon one. And fortunately because of how the Zelda games work, each Hyrule is drastically different between games. I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this story, and I hope you all have fun reading this too.

-Vegeta the 3rd


	2. Return the Seventh

It was a slow day, but so were most days for Delia Ketchum. The single mother of one lived in her house/restaurant in a never-ending routine. Dusting, washing, cleaning, cooking, cleaning… even on slow days she was so busy that she barely had time to do her aerobics.

Fortunately, her Mr. Mime was around to lend a helping hand. Wearing a cleaning apron, the pink colored Pokémon swept with his large hands a broom in rhythm, clearing out the kitchen of leftover dust. He also sang a song only he knew the words to (if only because he could only say two); "Mr. Mime, Mr. Mime, Mr. Mime-mime-mime…"

"That's a good job, Mimey!" Delia called out. After years of being together, she didn't need to look up from her own chores to tell that her Pokémon was working hard. She was now dusting several vases and picture frames from the living room, stopping to admire three relics.

A trophy from the Orange Islands. A ceremonial plaque from the Battle Frontier. And most recently, a group photo of a young boy surrounded by so many colorful Pokémon. Each and every one of them he owned and loved as family.

Her little boy, Ash Ketchum, would be returning from his most recent adventure today. The thought of seeing him again, even for a moment, was enough to make her smile softly. Because even when he was busy following his dreams, her son always had time to visit.

Delia didn't know how long she reminisced, but the doorbell ringing snapped her back. Was Ash home? As frantic as she was at not getting everything done, she was nonetheless thrilled to see her son and Pikachu again! "I'll get it, Mimey!" she said as she rushed to the door and idly placed her cleaning tools aside on a bookshelf.

"Welcome home-!" she said brightly, but suddenly found herself speechless. What she saw in front of her was _not_ her Pokémon Trainer of a son. Rather, she saw what would be best be described as a bunch of sailors. Unsavory, rugged, macho-looking and rather _smelly_ sailors to boot, with a bunch of Wingull perched on their heads and shoulders as if they were scarecrows.

Her Mr. Mime even stopped cleaning to poke his head out from the side. "Mr. Mime?"

"Ahoy, fair lass!" a man in front of the crowd bowed with a smile. "Name's Captain Linebeck, and my crew and I have all traveled afar across the sea. Are you the owner of this tavern?"

Delia blinked. "Tavern? This is a restaurant."

The men started to frown and exchange glances. "Do you at least sell rum? Or booze?"

"This is a _family_ restaurant," she added with a frown. "And I refuse to provide service to rowdy types such as yourselves."

"Hey!" One of Linebeck's men argued, leaning towards the door. "We're not rowdy!"

Suddenly, yet almost appropriately timed, his mouth let out a very loud burp right in her face. Delia's frown turned into a pointed, disappointed scowl as if he were her own son. "Uh… 'scuse me."

"They're good men," Linebeck insisted, even as she started to close the door. "And I fully intend to pay," he added, handing her a brown bag.

Curious, Delia accepted the bag, and adopted a look of surprise when her lone arm dropped from the weight. Holding it in both hands, she untied the string holding the bag before pulling out a red hexagonal jewel.

"Where we're from, we have a currency called Rupees, the very stones in that satchel. They grow all over in underground veins, and are rather valuable for trade." He winked as he leaned forward to whisper, "You can keep the whole bag if you want."

For a long while, Delia stared between the Rupee in one hand and the bag in another. She didn't know how this would convert to Kanto currency, but they were so many, and they were so _pretty._ Perhaps they could be fashioned into some new jewelry?

She finally turned to her Pokémon. "Mimey, go fetch the drinks in the back shed."

"Mr. Mime!"

Everyone outside the household cheered in their success. "HUZZAAAAAAH!"

* * *

Hyrule League

Chapter 2: Return the Seventh

It was rare to see automobiles in the Kanto region, especially in rural towns like Pallet. Most people would travel from place to place on foot or by bike, and even bicycles cost a small fortune beyond the sensible budget of a trainer.

One such car was driving along the dirt road before stopping at a hill. Past the locked gate was a stairway leading up to a facility with a windmill tower. The car door opened as the three passengers (and a Pokémon) stepped outside and marveled at it.

"Wow," the young girl said, shifting her pink felt hat ever so slightly from the sunlight. "So this is the lab!"

"I told you it was cool!" "Pika pika!"

The girl, named Serena, wore a flowing red jacket over a pink blouse dress tied with a blue ribbon at the neck. She was a natural beauty of a Performer with peach blond hair in a pixie cut and warm smile.

Next to her was a boy nearing his late teens but with the shine and personality of a child. His blue jacket and gray jeans would likely see a change in attire soon, but the bright colors were synonymous with his smile while his first Pokémon crouched over his shoulder. A Pokémon with a shiny yellow coat, a bolt-like tail, and bright red cheek pouches. A Pokémon known as (and simply named) Pikachu. His trainer's name was Ash Ketchum.

The last to exit the cab was an adult with gray hair and thick eyebrows nearing his golden years. Though not as young or energetic as the young children, Samuel Oak carried with him confidence and wisdom, further flattered by his lab coat. This man was once a legendary Trainer in his day, but now he was an equally respected Professor on inter-relationships between humans and Pokémon.

"Yes, it's impressive all right," Professor Oak said. "Not only do trainer Pokémon rest here, but many wild Pokémon come and go nearby. It's almost like a nature preserve."

"Yeah, Goodra and Greninja would have loved this place," Ash smiled sadly. "But I can't wait to introduce my other Pokémon here."

"Well then, let's quickly drop your Pokémon off so we can all enjoy some of your mother's cooking."

"Sounds good to me!" "Pikachu!"

The group climbed the stairway and entered the front door of the lab in good cheer. But their high spirits turned to confusion at the disarray inside. The lights were off, papers and files were scattered across the floor, and there was no one in sight.

"This is odd," Oak frowned. The lab wasn't nearly as messy as he remembered, and he had hired three interns to help organize the lab during his absence. Even if they weren't a factor, Tracey was around and had proven to be a punctual and sharp-eyed assistant.

He considered calling out his name as they ventured further inside, but that was unnecessary. They found him almost immediately, bound and gagged to a chair. Alarm bells went off in the Professor's head even as Serena gasped and Ash rushed over with him. This was not good at all.

Oak pulled the binding over his mouth first before working on the others. "Tracey! What happened?!"

"Team Rocket… they stole all the Pokémon! They left through the backdoor-!"

That was all Ash needed to hear as he ran for the back exit, with Pikachu quickly tailing behind. He only had a small window to save all the Pokémon in Professor Oak's lab.

The ranch door was already open, so they couldn't have gotten far! He ran outside the exit, stopping to search for which direction they went-

However, he ended up bumping into something big and orange. Normally he would have been more polite or careful, but his Pokémon were in danger. He didn't have the luxury, so he snapped. "Hey! Out of the way you big-!"

"RHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"

A mighty Flamethower erupted from the creature's mouth as it turned and roared, engulfing Ash in scorching red and yellow flames. Pikachu himself barely jumped away in time, and could only look on in horror as his trainer and friend was burned. "Pika-pi!"

Moments later, the fire subsided to reveal Ash covered in blackened char. He weakly glanced up to his orange, reptilian assailant. It stood on bent knees with three spiked toes, connected to a round abdomen with a yellow underbelly and clenched three-pronged claws, clearly ready for a fight. A pair of unfurled orange-and-blue wings flared behind its back, and its long neck was leaning back after attacking. The angular dragonic face was glaring with fierce eyes and fangs bared. To top it off, its tail was poised high, sporting a perpetual flame as if it was alive.

Now that Ash was paying more attention to his surroundings, he blinked as he realized who was standing in front of him. "Charizard?" he asked, a small cloud of soot escaping his lips.

The Charizard's glare dropped and it blinked dumbly. Then it smiled and extended its arms in a welcoming hug. " _Rhaaar!_ "

"You're okay!" Ash smiled as he leaped into his Pokémon's arms, injuries forgotten. A relieved but happy laugh was shared between them, as well as Pikachu who jumped in.

"Baaaaaaaaay!"

Ash barely had time to look up before another one of his Pokémon came charging at him full force. The pale yellow quadruped knocked him down to the grass, away from Charizard and Pikachu, nuzzling her neck and face affectionately against his. The leafs adorning her neck tickled him, and her leaf antennae seemed to brush off his hair and hat, but he didn't mind.

"I missed you too, Bayleef," he smiled, patting and rubbing her neck gently.

"Baaaaay!" she cried, more than happy to see her trainer again. Pikachu and Charizard, familiar with her "advances" since she was a Chikorita, shared knowing and amused chuckles.

"Bulba!"  
"Torkoal!"  
"Totototo-di!"  
"Oooooowl!"  
"Gibllllllle!"

Gently pushing himself off from his Grass-type Pokémon, Ash saw a horde of his Pokémon from his adventures rushing over to him. His Pokémon were all here, were all okay, and suddenly everything was right in the world.

"You're all okay!" he cried, arms wide as he hugged the Bulbasaur that jumped into his arms, and reached out to pet his Torkoal. Other Pokémon all cheered and circled him, full of love and admiration for their trainer.

And that's how Oak, Tracey, and Serena found him; surrounded by his Pokémon in what was a heartfelt reunion. Serena felt a surge of emotions all at once: surprise at seeing so many Pokémon at once, relief that the stolen Pokémon were not stolen at all, and happiness for Ash being surrounded by such caring Pokémon.

"Well, looks like everything turned out all right," Oak smiled, turning to his assistant. "I must apologize for leaving you alone with Team Rocket, Tracey."

"It's my fault, Professor," he bowed. "I let my guard down and they almost got away with every Pokémon in the lab, including my own."

"But wait," Serena blinked. "If you were tied up, then who stopped Team Rocket and saved all the Pokémon?"

"Okay! Okay! That's enough hugging!" they heard a feminine voice cry. Everyone turned to see several Pokémon crowding around a Muk as it affectionately hugged someone into slimy submission.

"Muuuuuk!" the Pokémon cooed, wrapping its dripping limbs into a hug around the blond girl.

"Yes, I know! You're happy!" she said, pushing it as far away from her as possible, with mixed results. "Now can you please let go?! You're going to stain my clothes, and- oh, by Din's flaming _gas_ do you _stink_!"

"Muk? Mu, mu muk!"

"That wasn't a compliment!"

Somehow the scene eased the last bit of tension they had, and Oak couldn't help but laugh. "She should have met your Muk when you first caught it, Ash," he told him. "It took me _months_ to get rid of that sewage smell. In fact, it seemed to pick up hugging from all those bath sessions."

"But why is she here?" Serena asked.

"That's the girl I told you about, Professor," Tracey pointed. "She arrived in the nick of time before Team Rocket got away."

"Bulba! Bulbasaur!" The seed Pokémon pointed, by courtesy of a green vine tendril extended from under his bulb, at a torn bag and a large collection of Poké Balls that had spilled out.

"And that was the bag Team Rocket used!" Tracey exclaimed.

Ash turned to Bulbasaur and the rest of his Pokémon. "You're saying she helped you?"

They all nodded and gave sounds of approval.

"That's amazing!" Serena said.

Ash didn't know this girl, but anyone that would stop Team Rocket's nefarious plans was okay in his book. "Well, we better help her out of Muk's Body Slam. Come on, Pikachu!"

"Pika pika!"

"I'll help too!" Serena said, following them over to Muk. Oak and Tracey, however, walked over to the bag to collect the Poké Balls and return them to the lab.

Professor Oak, however, couldn't help but notice what the girl had cried out. His hand was stroking his chin as he thought aloud, "Tracey, do you think she understands what Muk is saying?"

"It's not that odd, is it?" his assistant asked. "Ash and Pikachu understand each other."

"Of course trainers and their Pokémon can understand one another, but it's more of an instinct and bond that doesn't need words to explain; the same kind that allows breakthroughs like Mega Evolution to happen. And it sounds like she's holding a _conversation_ with Muk, with very specific word responses."

They would have discussed this phenomenon more, but by the time they reached the bag, they found a Honedge fluttering over the contents. Although familiar with the Sword Pokémon, they had never seen one near their lab before, owned by them or any other trainer. It wasn't even trying to claim the balls like the thief but instead was organizing them in some methodical pattern. And it only stopped when it noticed the Professor and his assistant behind it.

"Hone?"

Meanwhile, Ash, Pikachu and Serena approached Muk and the girl with reserved concern for their well-being. "Muk loves to give hugs to everyone, especially new people," Ash warned. "So try to get her away before he notices you."

"What are you going to do?"

"Give him a long overdue welcome," he said solemnly. "Pikachu, take good care of them."

The mouse closed his eyes and placed a paw over head as if making a salute. "Pi, pikapi."

Serena fought back giggles at what the boys were playing off as a serious act of sacrifice. Even in moments like these Ash found the time to have fun.

Inhaling deeply, Ash turned with a wide grin and welcoming arms, "Hey Muk! Long time no see, buddy!"

The Sludge Pokémon's body perked up, and turned. Recognition flashed across his slimy face and he lunged forward with arms wide. "Muuuuuuuk!"

Ash's smile was genuine for sure; he loved Muk as much as any Pokémon he had caught and raised before. But he still couldn't help but cringe a bit, knowing his Body Slam was going to hurt more than Bayleef's, and Muk weighed quite a lot for a pile of sludge.

So his smile was equal parts happy and equal parts cringing as he thought "oh-here-we-go-again".

GLOMP!

Serena and Pikachu both flinched at the sound of sludge crushing bone, but quickly fought it back and turned their attention to the girl. "Are you okay?" Serena asked, already helping the girl upright.

"I-I think so," she said. "That Muk's _way_ too affectionate."

It was for the first time that Serena got a good look at the girl. She was about her age, dressed in clothes she had never seen before, with the brightest colors and in a cute design too. But the strangest thing about her, or at least caught her attention right away, was her ears. She really didn't mean to, but she never seen long, pointed ears before. Her hand reached out without thinking and ended up lightly caressing the tip of the girl's left ear between her fingers.

And oddly enough, she felt her own left ear caressed by the girl's hand.

They blushed, realizing what they were doing to each other, and pulled their hands away. Then they laughed at the sheer silliness of it all.

"I'm sorry," Serena said. "I didn't mean to, but-"

"The ears?" she smiled, pointing to them. "I know, talk about rude for both of us. I didn't mean to either. It's just that I've never seen rounded ears before."

"Well I've never heard of people with pointed ears before either. I'm Serena by the way, and this is Ash's Pikachu."

The mouse jumped onto Serena's shoulder and waved a paw. "Pikachu!"

"Nice to meet you," the girl nodded. "But who's Ash?"

"The one currently under his own Muk," Serena smiled sheepishly.

Linkle turned around, seeing them still engaged in the "hug" session. She panicked and waved her arms hurriedly. "N-n-now look! I know this looks bad, but I didn't do anything!"

"We know," said Serena. "Tracey told us you bumped into Team Rocket."

"You know those guys?"

"Unfortunately. They have a history of attempted robbery of other trainer's Pokémon, especially poor Pikachu here."

Pikachu glowered at the thought of the thieving trio, but calmed down as Serena idly scratched his yellow fur.

"A lot of Pokémon here are Ash's, actually," she continued. "So it's a big relief for all of us that you got here when you did. Thank you."

The girl's cheeks glowed at the praise, and she idly fiddled with one of her hair braids. "I-it's no trouble, but I didn't do anything really."

"What are you talking about? You stopped Team Rocket!"

"Pika pika!"

"No, I didn't," she insisted with a frown. "I mean, I tried to stop them with Fi, but they thrashed us so badly that the only thing I could do was rip up their bag and make sure they wouldn't escape with them. It was just lucky that a bunch of the Pokémon came out and scared them off." She sighed in defeat. "I tried to be a hero, but I couldn't do anything."

Serena grabbed the girl by the shoulders, sternly frowning. She wasn't going to allow someone to beat themselves down like she did in the past. She wanted to be someone to offer strength for others, even for just a moment. "Don't say that," she said. "You being here was enough. What you did here was _more_ than enough! You saved all these Pokémon on your own, and everyone here is grateful to you."

"Pikachu!" Even Pikachu agreed, nodding with her.

The pointed-ear girl was taken aback by her words of encouragement, but soon found herself smiling. "Yeah... yeah you're right. Thanks, Serena."

"I thought I was thanking you, but you're welcome," she smiled, but it turned nervous as she asked, "Uh, what was your name again?"

"Hahaha, sorry, slipped my mind!" It was the girl's turn to be embarrassed, and both girls laughed again.

"I'm Linkle Braver from Kakariko Town!"

* * *

"We were SO CLOSE!"

James and Meowth both flinched at their leader's shrill voice. After retreating into the forest and making sure none of the angry Pokémon followed them, Jessie spent the last few hours pacing and screaming at the injustice of their most recent failed escapade.

"Our job was so simple even a Mankey could have done it!" she argued. "We took account of every moment where we could screw up, and we made it _just out the door_! So why in the world did we have to lose everything to some random pointed-ear girl with a crossbow?!"

"Bad karma?" James reasoned, turning to Meowth for confirmation. "We _are_ thieves, after all."

"Bad ones at that."

"Bad as in 'we're bad and mean,' or bad as in 'we're horrible at this'?"

"Both," answered the Cat Scratch Pokémon, shrugging his arms rather dismissively. "But mostly da second one at this point. I honestly lost count how many times we 'blasted off again'."

"Don't remind me," Jessie scowled. Huffing, she kicked the dust under her boot. "And to think we had to beg the boss for an immediate transfer back to Kanto. Had we known this would backfire, we would have stayed there and tried again with Pikachu. Or even whatever Squishy was."

Squishy, the little green slimy Pokémon with a single eye. It was definitely a rare Pokémon if they had never seen it before. Maybe even Legendary based on the power it used. No one besides the fashion disaster Team Flare seemed to know what it was (and kept that information to themselves, of course). So they mostly referred to it by the cutesy nickname that one of the twerp's friends had called it. Their boss, the moment he heard about it, ordered them to catch it in the glory of Team Rocket. But between the twerps always watching over Squishy, and Team Flare nabbing its twin(?), the quest seemed like a lost cause.

"I think we really dodged a bullet that time though," James said. "Almost immediately after the Kalos League was over, it showed up and completely wrecked Lumiose City with quakes and vines. All thanks to the Flare-boyants no less."

"At least they're all disbanded now. Kind of expected when the head honchos ended up arrested or pushing up daisies."

The members of Team Rocket all nodded in agreement. They were mean, crude, and wore the ugliest red uniforms and gaudiest googles. One less team meant less competition. Good riddance!

As if remembering something, Jessie turned to the two with honest curiosity. "Didn't the twerp enter the Kalos League? How did he do this time?"

It was probably the wrong time to check, but they had nothing else to do now. And to be honest, they were more than a tad curious of his progress and whether he won the whole thing or not.

James fumbled through his pocket to pull out a gray, metallic cube the size of his palm. A marvel in Team Rocket technology that functioned in many uses including a stun collar, a capture net, and even their wireless internet device. A holographic keyboard and screen appeared almost immediately, and as the others huddled over his shoulders, James quickly typed on the keyboard to bring up the Kalos League leaderboard. The first image they saw was the champion holding the winner's trophy. It wasn't Ash Ketchum (to which they all felt a pang of disappointment), but some cool looking guy named Alain.

Alain wore pants and a jacket with shades of black and grey, and a blue puffy scarf around his neck. His jacket was open enough to reveal a blue shirt and white undershirt. A thick black bracelet was present around his wrist, and the camera angle revealed the shine of a rainbow stone embedded inside. His face, with black hair and blue eyes, seemed to show more surprise than gratitude or excitement upon winning.

James didn't need to scroll very far to find where Ash ended. "The twerp fought him in the final round, but ultimately he ended as a… runner up."

Looking over the recap of the finals, it was probably one of Ash's finest battles since he started out as a Pokemon Trainer. Pikachu against Tyranitar, Hawlucha against Weavile, Talonflame and Unfeazant in a double knockout, Pikachu again against Metagross. But Alain slowly but surely bridged the gap, such as Weavile against Noivern, and Bisharp against Hawlucha and Goodra.

It came down to Alain's Charizard and Ash's Greninja; one with the power of Mega Evolution, the other a power just akin to it. But the recap on the webpage had nothing concrete about it other than being called "Ash-Greninja", and citing it was just as powerful as any other Mega Evolution. The only difference is that the twerp didn't use two rare and valuable stones to activate the stronger transformation; he did it all on his own and with some shared mental pain.

Ultimately though, Mega Charizard came out on top. And didn't even look that winded in the end despite all the punishment Pikachu and Greninja gave it.

Team Rocket felt inexplicably sad over this. Yes, they had tried to impair his matches before in the Indigo and Orange Leagues, and had used following leagues as excuses to try and steal strong Pokémon disguised as food vendors. But after years of constantly opposing him, they had begun to respect the boy and his Pikachu after seeing how strong they had become. They were there for much of his adventures, following him because they knew he had something they greatly needed, often times butting heads because there was a conflict (namely, Team Rocket wanted something, and the twerps were goody-goody two-shoes). Sometimes even working together.

Team Rocket knew just from their fights and confrontations how honest he was. How caring of Pokémon he was. How much he loved to fight with them, and share their victories. How hard he fought just to prove himself. How many times he saved the _world_ because he loved it and the Pokémon so much.

No one wanted to win the Pokémon League, _any_ League, more than that twerp. He grew so much stronger than they ever remembered that they thought that he finally had a chance and (silently) wished him the best. He won the Orange League and Battle Frontier, but who would even care to know other than the Orange Archipelago locales or the Frontier Brains themselves?

He lost in Kanto. He lost in Johto. He lost in Hoenn. He lost in Sinnoh. He lost in Unova.

And now, he had lost in Kalos too.

He had lost to… that guy.

James frowned. "That really puts the damper on the spirit, doesn't it?"

"This is serious!" Meowth snapped. "Do you know what people are gonna say about da twerp!? That he's a loser for coming up short again! Or worse, people are gonna assume _us_ as even bigger losers in comparison!"

"Oh no!" cried James. "And we just got a cushy job now too!"

"Exactly my point! So if we ever run into… _that guy-"_ Meowth snarled as he pointed deliberately at Alain's picture; he didn't deserve to be addressed by name. "We're gonna steal his Charizard and Mega Stone."

"No," Jessie glared at Alain's picture. "The next time we see him, we beat him up. _Then_ we steal his Pokémon."

"Agreed."

"Definitely."

The idea that this Champion was even stronger than the twerp was irrelevant. They got the drop on him several times before, and if they played their cards right, they could do it with him too. The job of crushing the boy's dreams was reserved to Team Rocket only, and even they wouldn't go so far as to steal his well-deserved trophy! Well… and at least not until he actually _won_ a trophy. Pikachu was still fair game.

Suddenly, the cube in James' hand vibrated and the screen changed. The image was now of an old styled house phone with sound effects appearing in flashing word bubbles. "Ring-ring-ring! Ring-ring-ring! Phone call! Phone call!"

"Oh no!" James paled as he read the caller ID. "It's the boss!"

Jessie and Meowth inhaled sharply and exchanged glances. They had promised a big pay-off in a heist for their immediate transfer to Kanto, but now they had nothing to show for it.

"What do we tell him?" Meowth asked.

"'Oh, that some brat with pointed ears came out of nowhere and thwarted our heist of the Pallet Town laboratory!'" she answered mockingly before scowling at the Cat Scratch Pokémon. "Do you have any idea how he'd react?!"

"Indulge me."

They both blinked, turning to the screen that now showed a man's face. A man with sleek and shiny brown hair, a face like stone, and a rather stern frown, wearing a black business suit. A man known officially as the former Viridian City Gym Leader, and rather informally as the head of Team Rocket. A man named Giovanni.

James was visibly sweating, possibly because he knew he accepted the call too soon and heard her last comment. She'll remember to thrash James for this later.

Even so, she quickly saluted to the screen to show composure, as did James and Meowth. "Good to see you again, boss!" they chorused.

"At ease," he said. "About that last comment…"

The trio tensed. Although they were in good relations with their boss after the whole Reveal Glass incident, for the longest time they were ridiculed and dismissed as embarrassments by their fellow Rocket peers, and even the boss expressed contempt at their failures. If he caught wind to how badly they handled things now, they might never get the high-end treatment again.

"Did you say 'pointed ears'?"

"I-I know that sounds impossible, but it's the truth!" Jessie affirmed.

"And this brat," he asked slowly. "Was there any insignia on them?"

The line of questioning confused the trio, but they thought back to Linkle's attire. "Well, aside from the pointed ears, she had green clothes, a crossbow-"

"And a shiny bauble!" Meowth added. "Like a watch or something. I remember there being some symbol on there too! It looked like a triangle."

"Yes, I think you're right," The magenta-haired woman nodded. "But I could have sworn it was three triangles-"

"Five triangles, actually," James explained. "Three on each corner, the inverted one in the center, and all together form one big triangle."

Despite getting worked up on the details, no one missed Giovanni's slight twitch of the eyebrow. "So it does exist," he muttered.

"Boss?" Jessie asked.

For a moment, the Team Rocket boss sat in silence and closed his eyes in thought. His underlings waited on baited breath for his words, whatever they might be. "Stealing from Professor Oak's laboratory," he started slowly. "Am I to assume that this isn't your first attempt, and that you failed again?"

Their spirits plummeted slightly, but they answered regardless. "Y-yessir."

"While I don't award near successes, I can respect tenacity and ambition. Furthermore, this action of yours has given us a lead on Hyrule's legend. The strive to achieve new heights and discoveries is ideal in Team Rocket. Good work."

Almost immediately, Jessie, James and Meowth were fighting back tears of relief and gratitude. Praise from their boss! It was what they lived for as proud members of Team Rocket! "Thank you, sir!"

Jessie blinked, and voiced her question. "Uh, what is 'Hyrule's legend', sir?"

"Your new assignment, effective immediately," Giovanni said. "Hyrule is a relatively closed off region that has only recently been inaugurated to the Official Pokemon League. There wasn't much to go on; Pokemon found there could have been found in other regions, and we had no solid footing to find their underground jewel veins."

An image flashed on the screen next to him, showing an old book page with a pyramid diagram set above a vague depiction of a birds with each wing separate from what looks like the diving face and talons. The trio all brightened at the familiar image. "Rumors have told of a legendary power unique to Hyrule and Hyrule alone, and the only clue we had from our sources was this symbol. The Triforce."

"I get it!" Meowth smirked. "If the Triforce thing exists on a girl's trinket, then it might exist somewhere else in Hyrule as well!"

"So it falls onto us to find it and bring it back for the glory of Team Rocket!" Jessie added.

"And maybe find some rare Pokémon and gemstones while we're at it?" James asked eagerly.

"That's the idea."

"Right away, sir!" The trio saluted one more, burning with confidence. The conversation over, Giovanni hanged up and the screen turned blank, revealing Team Rocket's faces as they melted from professionalism to happy giddy kids. "YES!"

A bad encounter had turned out to be a blessing in disguise. They would find rare Pokémon in a new region, rare treasure, AND a legendary power! And if luck favors them once more, they'd likely bump into the twerp and his Pikachu along the way.

"Look out, Hyrule; here comes Trouble!" Jessie sang, snagging the cube device from James' hands.  
"We'll be reaching your shores on the Double!" James added, with a rose in his hand and close to his lips.

They just couldn't resist; today was a great day!

"To protect the world from devastation!"  
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"  
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!" "And James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"  
"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"  
"Meowth, that's right!"  
"Wobbuffet!"

It was the most intense and awe-inspiring motto chants they have ever done, and they had done so for years! No one could have ever seen such vivid moves and technicolor explosions, and even the rose throwing! It was the best iteration of the Team Rocket motto anyone would have ever seen...

But no one had, and they never will. They had done it in a secluded part of the forest, and only the howling wind was the only sound they heard in response.

Jessie pulled herself up from her laying position on the ground and wiped her skirt, huffing, while James and Meowth righted themselves up in embarrassment, "I knew there was a reason why we kept following those twerps."

"Wo~bbuffet!"

* * *

After keeping Muk away from hugging everyone in sight, Ash and his friends introduced themselves to Linkle, after thanking her for her assistance. With the Poké Balls all mixed up, Professor Oak and Tracey had to scan and reorganize them back in the ball room. In the meantime, Ash, Serena and Linkle stayed outside to keep an eye on all the Pokémon.

So much was happening across the plains that Serena couldn't hope to keep track of it all, even from a high vantage point on top of a hill. She had never seen so many Pokémon in one place, her Pokédex might overload if she tried scanning and reading the data on them all. And to think a good number of them belonged to Ash!

Speaking of which… right now he was playing tag with a few of his Pokémon, an Oshawott and Gliscor if she remembered correctly. He stopped playing when they ran further away and played with other Pokémon, allowing Ash and Pikachu their needed rest beside Serena. She had learned not to automatically squirm whenever near Ash Ketchum, but she still felt flustered now and again.

"Well Serena?" he asked. "Isn't this place everything I said it would be?"

"And more," she smiled. "It's a shame Clemont and Bonnie couldn't come see it though."

"Yeah, I'm sure Clemont would have gotten a kick of some of Professor Oak's gadgets."

"If he didn't blow them up first, that is," Serena teased, to which all three of them laughed. "And Bonnie would love seeing all the cute Pokémon. Which ones are yours again?"

"Let's see… well, you can see Talonflame over there in the big crowd, right? Everyone there is mine."

"Even the Charizard?" Serena asked. It was one thing to see many of Ash's flying and fire type Pokémon. But it was another to see Ash own his own Charizard after seeing Alain's and Tierno's. This Charizard regarded Talonflame with an odd look between envy and anticipation. The Flame Pokemon looked like he wanted to spar with the red-feathered bird at a moment's notice, and by its proud posture, the feeling was mutual.

"Yep, and he came back recently from an all-Charizard getaway to train. He's one of my strongest Pokémon."

"But why did he burn you when you ran out the door?"

"It's a long story," he waved, before pointing to another corner. "Noivern's over there with Donphan and Scraggy. I helped hatch them from eggs too."

Indeed, Noivern was a shy dragon and the youngest team member, hatched halfway through Ash's Kalos journey. Knowing there was another young Pokemon around excited the armor-plated elephant Donphan and the elastic trouser lizard Scraggy, even if Scraggy was jealous and a bit angry he hadn't evolved yet.

"Did you hatch the Gible too?" Serena pointed to the fourth Pokemon, acting rather sneaky.

"Oh no," Ash shook his head, then did a double take. " _Oh no_."

CHOMP!

"VEEEEEEEEEE!" Noivern screamed, unintentionally letting out a skyward Boomburst from his ears. Any Pokémon nearby, especially Scraggy and Donphan, flinched and covered their ears as best they could. Donphan, as a quadruped Pokemon, had to duck down to the ground for cover. Ash, Serena and Pikachu could hear it too, but flinched more in sympathy than from the sound.

After several agonizing seconds, Noivern stopped the Boomburst, but still screamed as he swung his tail to let go of the bite-happy land shark, and Hawlucha rushed right over the moment it happened. Assisting Scraggy and Donphan, it took all three of them to pluck the little dragon off… only for Gible to bite Scraggy's arm and repeat the process all over again. While Hawlucha checked to see Noivern was alright, Donphan sighed before helping pull the dragon lose again.

"Why did he do that?!" Serena cried in dismay as Scraggy flailed.

"It's sort of Gible's thing, just like how Totodile likes to dance and Gliscor sticks his tongue out," Ash admitted sadly. "Trust me, I tried to stop him myself, but sometimes he would just bite me too."

"Pikachu," the mouse nodded solemnly.

Serena fought the urge to hug him in sympathy, and instead noticed what looked like a fight about to break out. "Oh no! That Machoke and Nidoking are about to attack your Bulbasaur!"

"Nah, I wouldn't worry about Bulbasaur," Ash smiled. "His job around the ranch is to keep the peace, after all."

It would seem silly, but neither Pokémon moved an inch as Bulbasaur held a Vine Whip in front of each of them. No punches were thrown, and the two continued to throw insults as the Seed Pokemon talked aloud to keep them calm. Unsurprisingly, this drew attention from a lot of smaller, more timid Pokémon, as if they were worried the fighting might bring harm to them. Or rather, ruin their homes by the trees and flowers.

But the Machoke wouldn't have any of that. It wanted to fight the Nidoking, and the Bulbasaur was getting in the way, so by that line of logic, the Seed Pokémon had to go. And so, when its attention was focused on the more vocal Nidoking, Machoke saw the chance to strike. "Mah-!"

"Oh no!" "Pikapi!" Both Trainers gasped and the Pokémon squeaked. Ash rose from the ground, ready to rush down to intervene or at least provide damage control. He didn't care if this was a Pokemon-only dispute; NO ONE hurts his friends!

Machoke swung its Karate Chop at Bulbasaur, but at the last minute was blocked. Hawlucha, who also watched from afar as the argument play out, had immediately closed the distance and threw a Karate Chop of his own to meet Machoke's. The smaller, masked bird may not look like much, but he had fought many strong Pokemon in Kalos from Sawyer's Slaking to Alain's Weavile and Bisharp. This one didn't compare.

The Pokémon watching the event were shocked; not just at Hawlucha's timely intervention, but that someone actually tried to hurt Bulbasaur. Another fight was about to break out, and this time Machoke saw it was going to be more than just Nidoking…

"Bulbasaur! Bulba bulba bulbasaur!"

"Hawlucha! Haw lucha!"

But a few words between Pokémon calmed the situation. Everyone went back to their business, including the Machoke and Nidoking who admitted begrudging apologies for acting up. Only Bulbasaur and Hawlucha remained, as they exchanged glances.

Ash sighed and slumped back down, immensely thankful for Hawlucha. As he looked at the two, his smile grew. "I think Bulbasaur's job is going to be a lot easier now."

"What do you mean?"

"You remember how we found Hawlucha protecting all the forest Pokémon? I found Bulbasaur in a similar situation, acting as a guardian for sick and injured Pokémon. And between the two of them, they'll make a great team."

"I think you're right, Ash." "Pikachu!"

That thought was further solidified when Bulbasaur offered a Vine Whip, and Hawlucha took it in a handshake, both sharing a smile.

"Oh! I see my Pokémon over there!" Serena smiled and pointed.

Elsewhere in the grazing fields, Serena's Braixen, Pancham, and Sylveon took the time to impress the other Pokémon with tricks they'd perfected in Showcase Performances. It made Serena's heart glow to see them practice even now.

"Braixen!" Serena's Starter Pokemon twirled her stick to ignite a small Flamethrower and made a ring of fire. Sylveon jumped through the ring with grace, twirling in midair before landing and trotting to the side.

"PaaaaaanCHAM!" The Playful Pokemon also jumped through the ring, punching the ground as he landed. Glowing stone pillars shot from the ground in a line formation and rose to several feet in the air. The Stone Edge technique pushed not just Pancham high up but Braxien and Sylveon as well. After their makeshift platforms reached the crux of their height, all three jumped off.

"Syyyyyy!" The Pink Fairy type effortlessly let out another Fairy Wind around her and her friends, picking up a draft and wildly blowing her ribbonlike feelers around, as well as their fur. The three of them slowed to a gentle landing, where they bowed and were met with cries of praise.

But it didn't last long, as an orange otter with two tails seemed to scoff at them, leading to Pancham yelling at the Pokémon.

"What's going on now?" Serena asked.

"I don't think my Buizel liked their show," Ash said.

"Why not?" she pouted. "It's not like your Buizel has ever done a Showcase before, so what grounds does it have to criticize?"

Before Ash could answer, Buizel gestured all the other Pokémon to back away for his own show. He shot like a bullet along the ground with his Aqua Jet move, leaving a thin trail of water behind as he zipped along the grass almost like he was skating on ice. After forming a figure eight several times, he laid back against the water and slid the rest of the way.

The Sea Weasel Pokemon's tail started to glow, causing Sonic Booms to shoot out in wild directions in the air. They echoed and detonated like fireworks, which surprised everyone with the stunning display of the move. And then, Buizel hopped into the air, spun and slammed to the ground with an Ice Punch. At once, the wet figure 8 froze into ice, shattering into dust with a near immediate second Ice Punch. The white sparkles were then carried away by the wind.

At the end, Buizel flashed a grin and thumbs-up sign. The Pokemon gathered around exploded in applause. Even Braixen and Sylveon were moved enough to cheer. Pancham… not so much.

Ash smiled bemusedly at his friend's slack-jawed expression. "Buizel actually belonged to another good friend of mine initially," he explained. "She was a coordinator, so he learned a bit about Contests and showing off from her. But he liked battling more and my Aipom liked coordinating, so we traded."

"So you didn't teach him all that?" she asked for clarity.

"Not everything. Though he really improved that Counter Shield technique since the last time I saw him."

"Counter Shield?"

"It was something I picked up and learned when we were at Sinnoh, with a little help from our friend Dawn," he explained. "When Pikachu uses a Thunderbolt, but spins at the same time, the attack spins as well and makes it hard for any other Pokemon to get close. It really helped in a pinch in my Hearthome City Gym Battle."

He caught so many Pokémon _and_ created such a visually stunning attack strategy with spinning? It was so simple yet so effective… just like him, really. "That sounds like a great strategy," she admitted. "All this Pokémon training must come naturally to you."

"Well, I've been doing this for a while now," he smiled sheepishly. "And I was actually no better at this than you were. I had to have my friends always help me with advice and telling me what to do. The only difference is that I do the helping now. I think you're coming along better than I ever did when I first started, and it's not because of me."

Not for the first time, Serena blushed at his absent praise. Even after all the adventures they had together in Kalos, she wasn't sure how to go about admitting her feelings toward him, or how he would react. He was so nice, but also so carefree and… well, oblivious. It was hard to believe that he was close to fifteen like her and that he was so childish. It was a charming point, but it made things complicated for her weary heart. And if she were honest with herself, she got this far _because_ it was Ash guiding her.

Surely there would come a day soon when she could admit those feelings openly, right? She might have been selfish, but she postponed the idea of heading to Hoenn for Pokémon Contests because she wanted to spend more time traveling with Ash. And, of course, because he offered to invite her back to Pallet Town and there was no _way_ she could refute that.

"But wait," she voiced aloud, as a thought struck her. "Why didn't you use the Counter Shield at all in Gym battles or the Kalos League?"

Ash had an odd look on his face that Serena couldn't read, and made her wonder if she shouldn't have asked at all. "…I don't know," he said finally. "It wasn't the perfect defense, and it probably wouldn't have made a difference anyway."

"Pikapi," Pikachu frowned.

Serena shared the frown, feeling horrible with herself. She may have heard passing stories of his many adventures, but seeing so many of Pokémon right here had convinced her that he had years of experience and hardship, more than she went through in the Pokémon Showcase. She still felt pangs of regret for losing, no matter how much she told herself that it was fine, that Aria deserved to win, and how everyone thought the reigning queen did her performance better.

So of course Ash Ketchum, no matter how confident and content he said otherwise, would feel crushed to come so far just to lose _again._

Serena wanted to say something, _anything,_ to make him feel better, but none of the words came out. But it turns out she didn't need to.

"What's a Kalos League?"

Ash, Pikachu and Serena glanced up to see Linkle walking over to them, taking a seat on the hill to Ash's left. "It's a Pokemon League held at the Kalos region," Serena explained. "The championship for all qualified Pokemon Trainers is held at Lumiose City, and is called the Lumiose Conference."

The pointed-eared girl blinked. "Oh. So… what's a Pokemon League then?"

Ash turned to her fully with an incredulous expression (which was shared almost in tune with his mouse Pokémon). "You never heard of a Pokémon League?!" "Pika pika?"

To her credit, Linkle rubbed her neck sheepishly while laughing. "Haha, well, I'm not what you call an official Pokémon Trainer, and last I heard back home we were ironing out all the details of our own League, so it just didn't seem important at the time."

"I see," Ash said. "Well, you know what a Pokémon Trainer _is_ , right?"

"A person who finds, catches, and uses Pokémon for battles. Kind of simple, there."

"Right. A Pokémon League is a competition set up for trainers to compete against each other, but only after they prove themselves." Ash reached in his jacket and pulled out a thick white case. He opened it and showed Linkle the contents inside; eight small medals the size of his palm, each in a unique design.

"A Pokémon Trainer is supposed to travel the whole region and find eight Pokémon Gyms. They challenge each Gym Leader to a fight, and if they win, you're awarded their Gym Badge."

"So you can only enter a League if you have all eight?"

"That's right," Ash nodded. "But, come to think of it, there are some exceptions to the rule, like graduating at a fancy school or something."

"I see," Linkle nodded. "That sounds really tough."

"It can be."

"How many Leagues have you entered now?"

Ash hesitated, but only for a moment. "Kalos is seventh regional Pokemon League I've entered."

"Seventh?!" Linkle blinked. "You must have won a lot of trophies by now!"

"No, just one from a few years ago," Ash smiled sadly. "And a plaque from the Battle Frontier-"

"And the medals!" Serena said. "Remember, for helping save Lumiose City and all of Kalos from Team Flare?"

"Of course I do," Ash reached in his backpack and pulled out a handful of decorative medals; shaped like golden Poké Balls and held with red ribbons, one for him and each of his Pokemon. He stared at them, remembering that Goodra and Greninja took theirs before leaving. "You and your Pokemon got them too, Serena. So did Clemont, and Bonnie, and Marin, and… Alain…"

It wasn't that he didn't think Alain wasn't a good friend. He really was. And he won the Kalos League fair and square. Alain raised his Pokémon well, especially his Charizard, and even when he turned out to be indirectly helping Team Flare, he helped them in the end.

Like Ash said, everyone was awarded for helping save Kalos (maybe even the whole world). So it was only fair Alain was as well, on top of the Kalos League trophy he earned. He worked for years to prove the strength of his bond in Charizard, so it was fine, really.

…it really should.

"Ash?"

Hearing Serena's worried voice broke him out of his thoughts and he tried laughing it off. "Sorry, I was thinking back to that fight with Alain."

"Who's Alain?"

"A good friend of mine," he said. "And the new Kalos League Champion. But I hope to meet him again someday for a rematch."

He meant to say that encouragingly, and even he felt oddly bitter hearing those words. He never did win a match against Alain and his Mega Evolved Charizard before, but that was fine, right? He had lost battles against friends and rivals and even Elite Four members before, so why should this be any different?

Serena wanted to try and boost Ash's self-esteem with the medals, but saw that she somehow said the wrong thing again. Pikachu was also concerned as he tried lightly pulling his trainer's cheeks. "Pikapi…"

Now, Linkle didn't know who this "Alain" was, but it was probably something complicated involving him. Her gaze fell away from Ash's blank face, and down to the string of medals in his hand. She didn't know much about Ash, but she knew one thing for sure.

He was a hero. Maybe not a full-time hero, or a veteran hero, or even an in-training hero. But a hero all the same, if given a medal for it.

Heroes deserve peace of mind and to be let known that what they did was worth all the blood and sweat and tears they poured for others.

So she pulled out her ocarina and played a song.

Pikachu seem to hear it first, as his long ears twitched first before his head rose. Slowly, Ash and Serena's heads rose too, and they turned to the source of the music next to them.

Linkle's eyes were closed, and held in her hands was a small, blue, and odd-looking wood instrument. Her fingers moved in rhythm with each breath into the instrument, opening and closing holes for different sounds that were strung together effortlessly into a song.

The song was… simply beautiful. Majestic, inspiring, invigorating, calming, romantic, full of hope and wonder, and many adjectives too. But beautiful was the first thing that came to their minds as they processed the music.

Ash, Pikachu and Serena didn't say anything, or do anything, but watch Linkle as she played her song.


End file.
